Saving Grace

Chapter 3: Date Night

I woke up around nine the next morning. I had a pretty hard time trying to sleep last night, I was too wound up. But to be fair I had a pretty hectic day. Moving to London, meeting my favorite band, and not just meeting them but becoming friends with them, AND my favorite member of my favorite band asked me out. That was enough to keep anyone up. I was still tired and I was half tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but I figured I would have to get used to the time change eventually, so I rolled out of bed and padded into the bathroom. When I was finished there I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat, it didn't look like anyone was home, which I didn't mind, I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone this morning. I walked over to the fridge and noticed a note on the kitchen counter.

Elena,

Sorry to leave you alone but your father and I have work, Jake took Drew to football practice, Lacey had cheer practice and the twins have a play-date. Try not to burn the house down while we're gone.

Julia XX

I breathed a sigh of relief, I preferred being alone to stuck in a house with people I don't know and am not comfortable with. Especially Lacey, with the looks I get from her, I can tell she doesn't like me.

I decided that food could wait and I'd rather take a shower since no one was here, I had body issues and I really didn't want to be in a towel around Lacey. I let the warm water wash over me while I thought about my date tonight. I have a date with Zayn Malik, the Zayn Malik, how did I get this lucky? I know I didn't really act like it yesterday, but I really am a huge fan, I just wasn't in a good mood yesterday ad I was too exhausted to put any energy into fangirling. Was that why he liked me? Because I wasn't a fan? Should I tell him I'm a fan? I mean I'm pretty sure that if I tell him I have a blog dedicated to him and his band members and that I write fan-fiction about them he would run for the hills. They probably all would. Then I would lose the only friends I've had since elementary school. I really needed friends right now so I decided that it was best not to tell them and to just keep it vague if they ask.

It was about an hour later when I got out of the shower. I felt a million times better than I did yesterday, I felt like things were finally looking up for me. Maybe coming to London wasn't so bad after all. I walked into my bedroom and checked my phone, seeing that I had a text message from Eleanor.

Hey babe I was wondering if you were up for a lunch date

I quickly typed out a reply declining, but then told myself that I needed to socialize more and that this could be good for me, besides El was a really nice person and I was comfortable around her. So I deleted my declining message and told her that I would love to go to lunch. She told me where and gave me directions and I said I would meet her there. It was only ten but we were meeting at noon so I decided to hold off on food. I opened my suitcases, since I hadn't had the chance to unpack yet, and tried to find an appropriate outfit. It was hot out since it was mid-summer, and even though I didn’t really want to show my scars, I really didn't want to be sweating. I decided that being physically comfortable was more important and I would just have to get over not wanting to show my scars. It was just El and she had already seen them and I just wouldn't pay attention to anyone else. I decided on a blue lace tank top and some daisy dukes. When I was done getting dressed I headed back to the bathroom with my makeup and hair products in hand. I blow dried my hair and straightened the few stubborn pieces out. My dark brown hair came just above my shoulders when it was dry. I pulled out my makeup and decided to just throw on some light foundation, some eyeliner on the bottom lid and a swipe of mascara. I was running short on time so I didn't want to go through the works. It was eleven thirty and we were meeting at noon, it would take me about fifteen minutes to get into the city and I preferred being everywhere early. So I grabbed my purse and threw on some gladiator sandals and ran out the door to find the cafe that El had suggested. I got a little turned around on the way but I figured out where I had gone wrong and found the cafe soon enough, living in New York I got lost a lot and I figured out how to navigate big cities. I was about five minutes early and El was already waiting for me.